Organ Shortage in the Heart Transplant Process: Consequences for Patients

Abstract

Heart transplantation is recognized as the main therapeutic intervention for patients in advanced stages of heart failure; however, the scarcity of viable organs remains a determining obstacle to access to the procedure. This limitation is directly reflected in the clinical, social, and prognostic evolution of patients waiting on waiting lists, who live with high mortality rates, recurrent hospitalizations, and deterioration of quality of life. This research aimed to analyze the consequences of the insufficiency of organs available for heart transplantation, identify the factors that contribute to this scarcity, examine its impacts on the daily lives of patients, and evaluate technological and public health alternatives proposed in the literature as strategies to address the donor deficit. Methodologically, the research is configured as a literature review. With a time frame from 2020 to 2025, 16,239 articles were identified in the consulted databases, with 112 in LILACS, 34 in PubMed, and 16,093 in BDENF. After the title and abstract screening stage, 16,139 articles were excluded for not meeting the research objective. Next, a duplicate check was performed, resulting in the exclusion of 83 studies that were repeated across databases. This left 17 articles selected for detailed evaluation. After full-text reading, 16 studies met the preliminary eligibility criteria. However, during critical analysis, 6 articles were excluded due to methodological inconsistencies or for not directly addressing the investigated topic. At the end of the selection and analysis process, 10 articles were considered suitable and comprised the final sample for this review.